Muckalt was selected in the ninth round (221st overall) of the 1994 NHL Entry Draft by his hometown Vancouver Canucks. He had matured tremendously during his four years in Michigan and was ready to make a bid for a full-time roster spot in the NHL with the Canucks in 1998–99. He would play in 73 games during his rookie season, scoring 16 goals and 36 points, becoming a rising star in Vancouver.

Muckalt spent only one season with Ottawa (registering no goals and 8 assists in 70 games) before signing as a free agent with the Minnesota Wild in the summer of 2002. After failing to score a single goal during the previous season, Muckalt came roaring out of the gate in 2002–03, registering 5 goals and 8 points in his first 5 games with Minnesota before dislocating his right shoulder in a game vs. the Calgary Flames on October 22, 2002. The injury was severe enough to end Muckalt's season and keep him sidelined for the majority of the next as well. Sadly, he would never play another regular season NHL game, though he did attempt a comeback with the AHL's Houston Aeros, registering 3 assists in 9 games in 2003-04.

He would later sign a free agent contract with Vityaz Chekhov (Russia) in 2006, though he would never play with them.